HISTORICAL INQUIRY 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver. Was racism against Asians the biggest reason for the 1907 riots and violence in Vancouver?

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1 DATE: NAME: HISTORICAL INQUIRY 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver DEBATE QUESTION: Was racism against Asians the biggest reason for the 1907 riots and violence in Vancouver? INTRODUCTION: In this assignment we investigate the causes of the Anti- Asian Riots in Vancouver. Many people think of Vancouver as a multi- cultural, tolerant city, but throughout its history there have been cases of racial intolerance. What causes racial intolerance? What motivates people to carry out acts of violence against minorities? CRITERIA FOR JUDGEMENT: v What does racism look like? Criteria for racism? Other possible reasons? 1

2 Evidence Collection Sheet #1 Racism was the biggest reason for the riots and violence. Source Evidence: My inferences: Who is the author? What does the source say? How do I think this helps me answer the question? What does this prove? Add more sheets if you find more evidence. 2

3 Evidence Collection Sheet #2 Other reasons were more important. Source Evidence: My inferences: Who is the author? What does the source say? How do I think this helps me answer the question? What does this prove? Add more sheets if you find more evidence. 3

4 Preparation v Decide before the discussion: Was racism against Asians the biggest reason for the 1907 riots and violence in Vancouver? q Racism was the most important cause of the riots and violence. q Other reasons were more important. v My reasons for this position are (list 4-5 reasons): 4

5 Information Sources (Evidence) SOURCE 1 from: Forging Our Legacy: Canadian Citizenship and Immigration, The Government of Canada [2006] The riot, which resulted in a lot of damage to buildings owned or lived in by Asians, was started by a rock hurled by a youngster through the window of a Chinese store following a giant anti Asian parade. Although the rampage ignited spontaneously [started without anyone planning it], it had complex origins. The riot s main causes lay deep in an anti Asian attitude that had been smouldering for years in British Columbia. This racial dislike reached new heights in 1907 when it was reported that the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was planning to import thousands of Japanese labourers to work on the completion of the railway s western leg. To add to the tension, over 2,300 Japanese arrived in the province in July alone, far more than had been anticipated. With Japanese immigration soaring to levels higher than before, whites began to think that the Japanese had become the leading Oriental [Asian] threat to their province s culture. The Japanese, like the Chinese, had always been regarded as unassimilable [meaning they would not adopt Canadian culture and language], but after Japan s victory over Russia in the Russo Japanese War (1904 5) peoples fear of the Japanese grew larger. A growing number of white British Columbians now regarded the Japanese immigrant as aggressive, loyal first to Japan, and eager to expand Japanese territory. As alarm mounted over the Japanese influx, hysterical comments about the Japanese invasion appeared in the newspapers. With these expressed fears were demands by the Vancouver Trades and Labour Council for measures to stop Asian immigration. Not content to work within government alone, the council formed the Asiatic Exclusion League [an anti- Asian club]. The league then broke all ties with the Trades and Labour Council and staged the anti Asian parade that preceded the Vancouver Riot of Following the riot, the government of Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier found itself in the awkward position of having to keep British Columbia and Japan happy at the same time. The solution lay in compromise. In response to British Columbia s demands that Asian immigration be stopped, Ottawa negotiated an agreement with Japan whereby Japan would voluntarily limit the emigration of Japanese to Canada to 400 a year. As part of this same initiative, the government dispatched Mackenzie King, the Deputy Minister of Labour and a future Prime Minister, to Vancouver to investigate and settle Japanese claims for damages. In his capacity as a one man Royal Commission, King conducted a series of hearings and then awarded $9,000 in compensation to Japanese victims of the Vancouver Riot. Chinese riot victims, who had sustained more damage, later received $26,000. Once the Japanese claims were settled, Mackenzie King sought to determine the origins of the recent Oriental influx. 5

6 In his report, Mackenzie King said that the abnormally large numbers of Asians in Vancouver was due to high immigration from Hawaii and to the activities of immigration companies based in Canada. King concluded that immigration by way of Hawaii should be banned, that companies should be prohibited from importing contract workers, and that Ottawa should severely limit the admission of Japanese newcomers. He also implied that immigration from India should be discouraged. In response to King s findings, the Laurier government made an important change to the Immigration Act. This amendment, which came into effect in 1908, was known as the continuous journey regulation. Under this regulation, all would be immigrants were required to travel to Canada by continuous passage from their country of origin or citizenship on a through ticket purchased in that country. Since no shipping company provided direct service from India to Canada, this ingenious device served to ban all Indian immigration. It also closed the door on the Hawaii route for Japanese immigration. SOURCE 2 Graph showing immigration to Canada (from TC2 Source Docs 6

7 SOURCE 3 The 1907 Arrival Of Many Low- Wage Labourers Precipitated The September, 1907 Vancouver Asiatic Riot, [Posted on September 8, 2007] from Immigration Watch Canada (This is a group that wants to limit immigration to Canada). Let s start by asking one important question: Was there a connection between the unexpected arrival of about 11,500 Japanese, East Indians and Chinese in 1907 and the riot? There is clear evidence that there was. Before the riot, British Columbia had undoubtedly complained to Ottawa about the numbers of new arrivals in 1907 [After the riot, the Canadian government sent Mackenzie King to investigate how much compensation the victims should be paid for damages] but, Ottawa asked him to conduct another Royal Commission which would investigate why around 11,500 Japanese, Chinese and East Indians had arrived in the first ten months of Is this information source biased? Is it reliable information? The population of Vancouver was about 60,000 at the time and an inflow of 11,500 (a sudden population increase of about 20%, most of whom arrived before the riot) would have been very noticeable In Mackenzie King s words, the influx of 8125 Japanese alone had naturally caused great alarm and, if anything more were needed to occasion unrest, it was found in the simultaneous arrival from the Orient of Hindus by the hundreds and Chinese in larger numbers than in preceding years. According to Dr. James Morton s book In The Sea Of Sterile Mountains, about 30,000 of Vancouver s 60,000 people participated in the parade through Vancouver streets that preceded the riot (P. 205 ) which shows that a lot of people in Vancouver supported an end to cheap labour Obviously, many people at the time believed that the measures that Ottawa had taken up to 1907 [head taxes on Chinese workers] were not working to stop cheap labour from coming to British Columbia When the $500 Head Tax was imposed in 1904, Chinese contractors began to find that there was no longer much profit in importing these labourers and obtaining work for them. The result was that in the 3- year period immediately following the imposition of the $500 Head Tax, very few Chinese labourers came to Canada. With the drop in Chinese labourers, a Japanese immigration company, the Canadian Nippon Supply Company, saw a business opportunity Without telling Ottawa, this company secretly arranged with the Canadian Pacific Railway to import between 500 and 2000 Japanese labourers to work in Canada. All the Japanese would be paid less than Canadian workers and would probably be taking the jobs of higher- paid workers. The Nippon Supply Company also secretly arranged to import about 500 Japanese labourers to work in the Dunsmuir family s coal mines on Vancouver Island. These Japanese labourers would also be paid less than Canadian workers. Rumours about these deals had circulated in 1907, but were confirmed only during Mackenzie King s Royal Commission investigation after the riot. There is no question that the rumours were a major reason for the high turn- out in the parade. There is no question that the frustration with this issue which had built up over many years was also a factor. 7

8 SOURCE 4 Excerpt from the Globe and Mail newspaper, SOURCE 5 Excerpt from a Chinese- language newspaper,

9 DATE: NAME: HISTORICAL INQUIRY 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver Conclusion: Explain why there was a riot against Asian peoples in Vancouver in v Write an answer to the question above in a well- written paragraph. Use specific evidence from the sources to support your answer. (Try to explain why a counter- point to your reasons is not a good reason.) 9

10 Self & Teacher s Assessment: [ /20] v Self- assess your preparation and participation by circling the best fit. PREPARATION /10 [10 = outstanding; 3 = partly achieved; 1 = poor; 0=not achieved] Preparation: I was prepared for the discussion. The tasks were fully complete. I carefully studied the sources and found evidence for both sides of the question. Comprehension: I was able to write down evidence that helped me answer the question. My inferences are in my own words and show how the evidence can be used. Thinking: I made some comments about whether the evidence is reliable or should be believed. I can explain whether the evidence for one position is stronger than another. PARTICIPATION /10 [10 = outstanding; 3 = partly achieved; 1 = poor; 0=not achieved] Listening: I listened carefully and thought about what people were saying. I thought about how strong their arguments were and whether they used evidence to support their position. Evidence & Support: I was able to effectively support my arguments with evidence from the sources. Where possible, I shared a counter- point to somebody who did not use evidence well, or who used unreliable evidence. Sharing Ideas: I shared my argument about the question with at least one other person. My thinking was clear and well- supported. Conclusion: My conclusion was well- written using effective paragraphs and sentences. I used specific references to the sources (evidence) to support my answer. 10